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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) has responded to the dozens of bands who have pulled out of this year’s SXSW Festival in protest of its sponsorship deal with the U.S. Army. “Bye. Don’t come back,” Abbott wrote Tuesday in a post on X. “We are proud of the U.S. military in Texas. If you don’t like it, don’t come here.” Bands pull out of SXSW over U.S. Army sponsorship. Bye. Don’t come back. Austin remains the HQ for the Army Futures Command. San Antonio is Military City USA. We are proud of the U.S. military in Texas. If you don’t...

Texas Governor Greg Abbott hit out at musicians on Tuesday who are pulling out of the South by Southwest festival (SXSW) over the U.S. Army's sponsorship of the event, telling them "Don't come back" to the state. The internationally recognized event brings thousands of visitors to Austin each March, showcasing music, film and interactive media. This year's festival is running from March 8-16 and includes live panels and special events. However, it comes amid heightened tensions in the U.S. and around the world due to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. The U.S. is currently the foremost supplier of weapons to Israel,...

According to SXSW’s terms and conditions of participation, their strict no-refund policy states, “Any and all payments made to SXSW are not refundable for any reason, including, without limitation, failure to use Credentials due to illness, acts of God, travel-related problems, acts of terrorism, loss of employment and/or duplicate purchases.” Due to the cancellation, the festival also laid off a third of its employees, a decision referred to as “the only way to stop the bleeding” by a source to the Austin Chronicle.

After South by Southwest was cancelled on Friday over concerns about the coronavirus, two of its founders told the Austin Chronicle that the film festival doesn’t have insurance to cover the cancellation. Nick Barbaro, a co-founder of SXSW who is also the publisher of the Chronicle, told the paper that the festival does not have cancellation insurance relating to a disease outbreak or a policy that would be triggered by the city declaring a local state of disaster. “We have a lot of insurance (terrorism, injury, property destruction, weather). However, bacterial infections, communicable diseases, viruses and pandemics are not covered,”...

AUSTIN, Texas — For the first time in its 34-year history, South by Southwest has been canceled as the City of Austin declares a local disaster due to concerns about coronavirus spreading. In an announcement on Friday by Mayor Steve Adler, Judge Sarah Eckhardt, Dr. Mark Escott of the Interim Health Authority and Austin Public Health Director Stephanie Hayden, the City of Austin declared a local disaster, canceling the spring festival event as the COVID-19 virus causes worldwide concern. Judge Eckhardt also signed a companion declaration of disaster to apply county-wide in Travis County to festival gatherings that have guests...

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Two more high-profile tech companies say they won’t attend the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival happening later this month over fears of the novel coronavirus. Facebook and Intel confirmed to KXAN they do not plan to send anyone to the tech conference, which draws tens of thousands of people from across the world to Austin. “Due to concerns related to coronavirus, our company and employees will not be participating in SXSW this year,” Tracy Clayton, a Facebook spokesperson, said in a statement. An Intel spokesperson said the company has “withdrawn from on-site activities at this year’s SXSW.”

Daniel Johnston, whose guileless, homemade recordings inspired dozens of musicians from Kurt Cobain to Lana Del Rey, has died at the age of 58. The songwriter and artist "passed away of natural causes" at his home in Texas, said his family in a statement.

At SXSW, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) once again went on the attack, saying that Ronald Reagan was a racist who pitted white working class Americans against those of similar economic standing in communities of color. Guy gutted that remark in just one tweet. President Reagan won 49/50 states, 60 percent of the popular vote including 46 percent of the lowest income class, and 58 percent of the second lowest. Let her talk about policy, folks. Just let her talk. Ocasio-Cortez also said America was trash. I wish I could say this is just sour grapes over Hillary Clinton losing, but something...

(VIDEO AT SOURCE) Saturday at the South by Southwest Conference & Festivals in Austin, TX, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) said former President Ronald Reagan used “racist,” caricatures to pit “white working-class Americans against brown and black working-class Americans.” Ocasio-Cortez said, “One perfect example, I think a perfect example of how special interests and the powerful have pitted white working-class Americans against brown and black working-class Americans in order to just screw over all working-class Americans, is Reaganism in the ’80s when he started talking about welfare queens.” She added, “So you think about this image; welfare queens and what he...

(FULL TITLE: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez uses her SXSW talk to label FDR's New Deal 'racist' compared to her 'Green New Deal' and protests minorities being treated like 'garbage' - as she draws a bigger audience than any Democrat 2020 hopeful) She came. She saw. She conquered. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez dominated the South by Southwest conference with her mere presence, bringing in a larger crowd than any of the 2020 presidential contenders, all of whom were asked about her or her Green New Deal in their own sessions at the popular event. The 2,000 plus ballroom - one of the biggest in...

“I thought my last film was hard,” Zhao laughs, “but for a Chinese woman to try to wrangle a bunch of young cowboys?” Chinese filmmaker Chloé Zhao is making her second trip to the Cannes Film Festival’s Directors’ Fortnight this year, with sophomore feature The Rider. Born in Beijing, Zhao went to school in the UK and college in the U.S. before settling in Denver, basing her first two feature films on South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Reservation. Zhao’s 2015 drama, Songs My Brothers Taught Me, was developed at the Sundance Institute and premiered in Park City that year. It centers...

What happens when our intern, SvenComputer, is forced to crash a LGTBQ “Gender Nonconformity” meet up at SxSW? Hilarity and triggering ensues as Steven Crowder cues SvenComputer’s dialogue and gestures.

Full header: "The mayor of London read racist tweets about himself during SXSW as a plea for Facebook and Twitter to stop hate speech" At the annual SXSW festival in Austin on Monday, the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, made a moving plea for tech companies to take on hate speech. During his talk, the mayor read racist tweets about himself. "I say kill the mayor of London and you'll be rid of one Muslim terrorist," Khan read aloud. "I'd pay for someone to execute Sadiq Khan."

More featured speakers were also added to the lineup, including Sen. Bernie Sanders who will discuss government alongside CNN’s Washington correspondent Jake Tapper. Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger joins POLITICO’s Off Message session to discuss government. U-God of the Wu-Tang Clan will talk about his new book, while Austinite Ernest Cline will discuss turning his work “Ready Player One” into a movie.

NEW YORK (AFP) - At least four bands have been forced to cancel at South by Southwest after being refused entry into the United States, with some artists blaming President Donald Trump's policies. South by Southwest, the annual extravaganza of film, music and technology underway in Austin, Texas, has long been a launching point for bands seeking a break in the music industry. London-based United Vibrations, whose members include brothers Ahmad, Kareem and Yussef Dayes, said their authorizations to enter the United States were revoked. "We were looking forward to connecting with our brothers and sisters stateside to share our...

Pro-gun group Open Carry Texas is planning to openly carry guns at this year's South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas -- and their demonstration on gun rights will coincide with President Barack Obama's keynote address at the event on Friday. Open Carry Texas has been bringing guns to the festival for the last two years, according to the Dallas Morning News. This year, members are planning to hold small info sessions during SXSW to "engage in conversation and education" about gun rights laws in the state and encourage young festivalgoers to "carry in lawful defense of themselves and others,"...

A Muslim-American fencing powerhouse will proudly become the first U.S. Olympian to wear a hijab, but she was asked to take off the religious head covering while posing for an I.D. photo at SXSW. Ibtihaj Muhammad, the world champion fencer who has become a Muslim-American icon and an outspoken critic of Donald Trump’s Islamophobic policies, tweeted Saturday that she was asked to take off her hijab while registering for the tech festival in Austin, Tex. “Even after I explained it was for religious reasons, he insisted I had to remove my hijab for the photo to receive my badge,” Muhammad...

Showboating Obama brushes off Reagan funeral snub criticism to congratulate himself on steering America away from GREAT DEPRESSION during SXSW festival talk An ebullient Barack Obama sure sounded pleased with himself at SXSW festival on Friday – despite enduring a week of criticism for prioritizing the event over Nancy Reagan’s funeral. The President was the surprise keynote speaker at this year's Austin festival and talked about civic engagement with the editor-in-chief of The Texas Tribune. During the speech he bragged about keeping employment below five per cent and congratulated himself for the recent improvement in the country's job figures. 'Because...

President Barack Obama’s seven-hour visit Friday for a SXSW discussion on civic involvement will be followed by two Democratic fundraisers. Follow along live.

That’s why, next week, I’ll travel to Austin, Texas, to visit South by Southwest. It’s an annual gathering of some of our most creative thinkers, coders, makers, and entrepreneurs from across the country. And while I’m there, I’m going to ask everyone for ideas and technologies that can help update our government and our democracy to be as modern and dynamic as America itself. This has been a goal of mine since before I was President. On my campaign in 2008, we saw how technology could bring people together and help them engage as citizens in their own communities. So...